To quote John Lennon ...

"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."

I decided to spend some of my day off hanging out at a local bookstore. I love getting an iced tea, finding an overstuffed chair, and spending way too long reading. I guess I just love reading, people watching, and being surrounded by thousands of books.

Anyway, I decided to browse the pet section for some books on dog grooming because we have been trying to take care of it ourselves instead of spending the money on a groomer. As I flipped through one of the books, I couldn't help but start coming up with plans of daily grooming and dogs that never have a mat or flea (yeah right).

Then I began thinking about old me; the me that used to have so many "to do's". A year ago I was working in the garden, doing all the handiwork around the house, and had other projects on the side. Plus there were always more things that I wanted to do, but never managed to finish.

Looking back, I cannot believe that I used think I was never doing enough. If I had the energy or ability to do most of those things today, I would be over the moon.

Now that Rheumatoid Arthritis has waltzed into my life, most plans have been thrown out the window. Some days it just seems easier not to think about all the things I want to get done then to come up with a list and then be disappointed when I don't get something done. And the days I do find that I have energy, I almost always overdo it and take on as much as I can. Then I end up suffering the consequences for days afterwards.

So I am thinking of creating a new "to do" list; a list with one line for each day. If I can accomplish one thing each day, I would be really happy. Of course if I am dealing with a lot of pain or something, I will try not to give myself a hard time for not crossing that item off. Maybe I will add a second line for my days off, but maybe not. I want to enjoy those days too!

But one thing that I cannot compromise on no matter how much my husband may disagree - I cannot pay a handyman for something I know I can do myself.

My graces -

Day 3

• Having a peanut carmel apple for lunch!
• Finishing a large data entry project at work and knowing I can stop staring at the computer for today at least.
• Taking a walk with my husband in the warm evening and getting an iced tea at Starbucks.
• Seeing my husband's face light up when he finds a shirt for five bucks at TJ Maxx. He is all about a deal!
• Finishing Sex Lives of Cannibals (totally not the book you might think it is) and picking out my next book from the pile on my night stand.
  

Day 4

• Sleeping in until 10 am on my day off. I honestly could have stayed in bed longer, but the dogs wanted to go out.
  
• Finding a comfy chair at the bookstore and settling in for a reading session.
• Watching my canary take a bath. It always makes me laugh to watch him splash around in the water.
• Catching part of America's Funniest Home Videos. It's such a guilty pleasure and always ends with my abs in pain from laughing.
• Watching Zooey, our kitten, try desperately not to fall asleep an majorly failing as I type this.

You have probably realized that a lot of my graces will probably involve my babies. My husband and I basically live in a zoo with two dogs, a kitten, a canary, and several fish. We also take care of several feral cats, probably every bird in the neighborhood, and any other animal that may need our help (although my husband does not always agree with me on the last part). They are a huge part of our lives and I am definitely a lucky mama to have them around me.